Cushion seat



NOV. 1, 1932. I MANN 1,885,847

CUSHION SEAT Filed June 2, 1928 Patented Nov. 1, 1932 r V y uNrrEos A'rss PATENTE orrr ce LEON MANN, OF MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HOLED-TITE PACKING CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK CUSHION SEAT Application filed June 2, 1928. Serial No. 282,396.

The improvements relate to a portable aforementioned double arched cushions protective covering or'seat adapted to be used therein, all consisting of intimately matted by spectators at athletic events and serving libres. f desired, and particularly where as an auxiliary seat or cushion, alfording the nature of the fibre employed renders it comfort to the user as well as protection to advisable, a hardening substance such as his clothing. The improvements are also Portland cement may be added to the bath adapted for use as seats 011 benches, chairs, in quantity sufiicient to secure the desired resteps, lawns or by campers and in fact in any suit, but this-is'not necessary or essential. environment whereahard unyielding surface The advantages of the present improve- 1; is presented'and adapted to support an in-v ments will be apparent. These sheets and cor dividual in a sitting posture. A. primary cushions therein are of such form and are so object, among others, is the production of an constructed and arranged as to be relatively article of manufacture of the aforementioned rigid, and yet have a suilicient degree of character of highly efiicient form, in such a elasticity to accommodate themselves to presmanner and of such materials that the sure exerted thereon. Moreover the nature 6.5- strength, durability and usefulness of the of the construction insures proper and acunit are increased and the cost of production curate form and the preservation of that decreased to a minimum. form in use, since any pressure on the sheet In practicing the present improvements or any part thereof will tend to move its ;30- upstanding. supports of substantially conical matted fibres from their normal position into form are formed in a sheet, preferably of nona more intimate union and will be constantly metallic material, simultaneously with the resisted thereby, to the end that the parts will formation of said sheet. The formation always have a tendency to return to their of the sheets and the projecting suporiginal form, which causes them to exert a ports being preferably accomplished by counter pressure when slightly pressed or one and the same process or series of drawn therefrom. An inherent resilience and operations, which also includes the forelasticity is thus present in; the sheets and mation of a web or eup-like connecting parts thus formed, resulting in a cushioning and reinforcing portion extending over the effect under the influence of pressure of the to space circumscribed by the edges of said suphuman body or other weight placed thereon. ports, the pitch or inclination of the outer Other advantages will be apparent to those walls of the supports being in the opposite skilled in theart upon reference to the acdirection to that of its inner walls, which, com-panying specification] and drawing in with the bottom portion, form a cup-like inwhichi I 35 terior. It will be seen from the foregoing Fig. 1 is a plan View of one embodiment of and as the description proceeds, that a series the present improvements; r L of crater-like protuberances or cushions are Fig. 2 is an enlarged section taken on line formed in the sheet of material as an integral 2-2 of Fig. 1; I part thereof, in one and the same process. Figs. 3 and 4 are modifications;

40 In forming the sheet and parts thereof, Fig. 5 is a side elevationof the form illuswood pulp, cellulose or other fibrous material trated inFig. 1, with top folded down in is employed, the fibres being first placed in a condition for use. 7

liquid bath. Macerated paper, thoroughly In the preferred form illustrated in Fig.

disintegrated and mixed with water until it 1, the seat comprises a sheet 6 consisting of a has the consistency of thick soup may be embottom portion 7 and top portion 8 formed ployed, as may other similar materials. The of unfinished pulp material as above deformation of the sheets may then be accomscribed, the portions being formed or cut to plished by molding'or felting by means of the shape illustrated, although any other suitable dies or molds, whereby a sheet ofconvenient outline may be employed. Trans- .1- y relatively yieldable material results, with the verse score lines-9 are made intermediate the v sheet 6, thus providing a hinge, whereby cover 8 may be readily folded over bottom 7 so that the peripheries thereof coincide, as seen in Fig. 5. Obviously, instead of an integral sheet 6, the portions 7 and 8 may be separate sheets secured together by cloth, uardboard or any other suitable hinge at the point of score lines 9.

Preferably a suitable catch or securing means for holding together the free ends of cover 8 and bottom 7 is provided, as for example, slot 10, and tab or finger 11. It is understood, however, that the parts, when pressure is exerted thereon, will be in the position illustrated in Fig. 5, so that locking means 10 and 11 may be omitted, if desired.

The bottom portion 7, as illustrated, is provided with a plurality of raised frusto-conical members, designated in general by the character 12, formed in the sheet as above described. The arrangement of these members in the sheet may be in any manner desired, as for example in parallelrows, concentric circles or otherwise, although even distribution thereof, so that the members are an equal distance apart, is preferable. The portions 13 of the sheet between members 12 are preferably fiat and in the same horizontal plane so as to present an even surface upon which top 8 may rest. In the event that members 12 are formed closer to one another, the portions 13 may be rounded, the particular form thereof not being essential.

Each member 12 consists of a downwardly and inwardly inclined wall 14 and an upwardly and inwardly inclinedinterior wall 15 with a dome-shaped bottom 16 but the angles and arrangement of these parts may be varied to some extent, but itis important that the ring 17 defined by the union of walls 14 and 15 be in substantially the same plane as rings 17 of the other members. The domeshaped central portion 16 of the member 12 extends to the plane of portions 13 of the sheet (as seen in Fig. 2) and provides therewith a supporting surface for the top 8.

As illustrated the top or cover portion 8 (likewise of unfinished pulp material) presents a smooth seating surface and may be ironed and sized so as to receive lettering or printing embodying advertisements and the like.

In use, the top 8 is folded over bottom 7, and placed with members 12 on the supporting surface 18, so that top 8 with or without advertising matter, faces upward, thus presenting a smooth seat for the user,

The form of'each'cushion member 12 is substantially that of an arch, of-which the surface 18 is the keystone so thatgreat strength, durability and resistance to pressure is obtained and the tendency of such pressure to deform and break down the member 12 is resisted. Thus downward pressure which they return to their normal position.

A soft cushioning effect thus results, from the inherent character of the sheet material and the form of the protuberances 12.

This cushioning function is also eontribut ed in like manner by the inclined walls 15 and dome-shaped member 16 which form in effect a reverse arch, pressure on domes 16, through walls 15 to ring 17 being resisted by a like movement ofthe fibres, which spring back to normal position when pressure is removed. I

It is thus seen upon inspection of Figs. 1 and 2, that pressure upon a dome 16 tending to spread wall 15 thereof is resisted by-the ubiquitous portions 13 exerting a like pressure through walls 14; Conversely, the tendency of walls 14 tospread under pressure is resisted by the adjacent walls 15'and domes 16; Obviously therefore, the bottom portion.

7 is provided with an infinitesimal number of substantially V-shaped supports which greatly contribute to the strength and durability of the construction but yet are yielding due to the inherent characteristics of the material, as above set forth.

It will be noted that a seat of the character described is called upon to withstand not only strains in a vertical direction but also lateral and twisting strains of every description. Accordingly the improvements of the present disclosure have been so designed that the protuberances aflording' the cushion mem bers, are capable of resisting the lateral, oblique and twisting strains caused by the, weight of the human body seated thereon as well as satisfying the primary function of resisting strains in a vertical plane.

Furthermore, the arrangement of the mem-' bers 12 is such that air pockets 19 and 20 exist when the article is in use tending to form a plurality of air cushions to supplement the inherent elasticity of the article itself.

Aside from affording a smooth seating surface, the cover 8 when in use, rests upon the portions 13 and domes 16 which latter'are in substantially the same horizontal plane, and accordingly'cover 8 serves to distribute the weight throughout the. said portions and 1 domes of bottom sheet 7 In turn the weight is borne in like manner by the rings 17 which are also all in the same plane and accordingly each ring 17 contacts the supporting surface 18 and bears afractional part of the total weight.

It is apparent that when aplurality of the articles herein described are stacked for shipment, vending or carriage under ones arm in unfolded position as seen in Fig. 1, they may be convenientlynested by placing the bottom portions 7 of the sheets alternately on the right and left of the stack so that a pile of even dimensions results.

The foregoing improvements accordingly provide a cheap and highly efiicient cushion seat which embodies characteristics of comfort and may be easily distributed to the public for extended or limited use as desired. Due to the light weight of the article, it may be readily moved or carried without inconvenience by the user. Essentials of strength and durability, however, have not been sacrificed in the interest of lightness and portability, for with the present improvements the pressure of the human body on the seat is evenly distributed throughout the cushion members 12, so that a fractional part of the total weight is borne by each, and accordingly each cooperate with the other in producing a sturdy yet relatively yieldable seat. It is apparent that the cushion effect is contributed to by the entire seat comprising the top and bottom members 7 and 8, since the whole sheet, being made of the unfinished pulp material, will respond to pressure after the manner indicated.

Due to the relatively flexible character of the entire seat as described, it is apparent that same will function-with equal efficiency should the supporting surface 18 be uneven, in which event the entire sheet (as well as the parts thereof) will accommodate itself to the environment and function as described.

Instead of the plurality of raised members 12. a similar cushion effect may be obtained by forming the bottom portion 7 with a plurality of spaced ribs 21 formed in the sheet as described. This form is shown in Fig. 3 with a space 22 provided for advertising, if desired.

In Fig. 4, a. plurality of diagonal ribs 23 intersecting each other, are illustrated. hese ribs are formed in the bottom 7, as in the preferred form and by reason of their intersection form diamond shaped cavities 24 which define air pockets with the supporting surface, as previously referred to. As in the preferred form, these ribs have inclined walls and thereby resist the pressure distributed throughout same, and possess similar resilient characteristics. Furthermore the intersecting ribs, like the members 12 of the form initially described, resist crushing (due to the converging walls thereof) such as may occur from lateral pressure resulting from an inclividual sliding about on the seat. It is undertwo covers 8 may be provided, if

stood, of course, that the forms illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 are also provided with covers 8, which has been omittedin' these figures for convenience of illustration.

Various other modifications within the scope of the present improvements, will occur to those familiar with the art. For example, desired, for

use above and beneath the sheet 7 Furthermore, if desired, domes 16 may be formed with a depression forming a shallow dished portion, thereby presenting a supporting ring in the plane of portions 13.

I claim:

1. A cushion seat of the character clescribed comprising a plurality of sheet sections formed of unfinished pulp material, one of said sections having a relatively smooth surface, and another section having frustoconical protuberances associated therewith.

2. A cushion seat of the character described comprising a plurality of sheet sections formed of unfinished pulp material, one of said sections having a relatively smooth surface and another section having frusto-conical protuberances including a dome-shaped portion associated with said section.

3. In a seat of the character described, a cushion element comprising a sheet of unfinished pulp material having thereon a series of projecting cushion members each consisting of an annular upstanding rim of substantially frusto-conical form and a supporting web for each member bridging the rims thereof.

4. In a seat of the character described, a cushion member comprising a sheet of unfinished pulp material having thereon a series of unbroken protuberances each consisting of an annular upstanding rim of substantially frusto-conical form and a domeshaped member extending from said rim with its apex substantially in the plane of the base of said frusto-conical member.

5. A cushion seat comprising a nonplaniform sheet of material composed of felted fibres in normal positions in the said nonplaniform state of the sheet and so arranged that stresses or strains tending to flatten the sheet will tend to move the said fibres from their normal felted or matted positions and relations and will be resisted by the tendency of said fibres to remain in such normal positions and relations, said sheet having separated arched portions connected by lateral portions, the former adapted to yieldingly support weight and pressure superposed thereon and the latter to receive an d distribute such weight and pressure.

Witness my hand this 1st day of June, 1928, county of New York, State of New ork.

LEON MANN. 

